Thursday, January 05, 2012

My 5 Favorite Recipes of 2011

It was so much harder than I expected to narrow this list down to just 5 recipes! Another issue is the fact that I work as a recipe developer for magazines. I have made so many recipes in 2011 that have not appeared on this blog because they belong to the publications that paid me to create them! It gets confusing. I should cook some of my published recipes and post about it. It's hard to remember them all, even the ones I love and swear I'll cook again. Is that something you guys would like to see?

But back to this list. In the end, it came down to one key deciding factor: whether or not I made the recipe more than once. So here's the list. Tell me what you think of it! Do any of the choices surprise you?

My 5 Favorite Recipes of 2011

In no particular order...

1) Beer bread. I've made it multiple times, and will make it many more. It's just so easy. And how can it be this delicious and healthy? I don't know! And it makes the ultimate grilled cheese...ridiculous!

2) Pumpkin penne. I threw this together one night in November, and I've made it like 4 times since then. With chestnuts, caramelized onions, chicken and spinach, it's just incredibly tasty and hearty.

3) Socca pizza. I make this over and over with whatever toppings I feel like. Just try it. The chickpea crust has such a dense, satisfying texture. And it's different enough that it doesn't need to replace traditional pizza (in case you were worried).

4) Brisket. We made it for the first time this year, and it was sort of a revelation. Easy, easy. The meat is quite lean, and the leftovers make a fantastic sandwich.

5) The best chocolate chip blondies. No frills here! Just a lot of quality chocolate chips. If you don't "get" blondies (believe me, I also adore brownies), I respect that. But I love them, and these moist, chewy ones are perfect.

All the five recipes are really the top favourites and I have already noted down the recipes of these when you first shared them on your blog....but still my favourite one is the best chocolate chip blondies as they really came of extra ordinary taste when I prepared those..!!!

Julie O'Hara Chicago, IL

Welcome! I'm a freelance recipe developer and writer for magazines like Shape, Clean Eating and National Geographic Traveler. View my work at julieoharawriter.com. I love your emails and comments--thanks for reading!